Record sales see GTA V steal cash-stuffed crown from Call of Duty

Grand Theft Auto V has become the fastest-grossing
entertainment title in the world with first-day sales of $800 million (£500 million), beating
the previous record of $500 million (£310 million) held by Call
of Duty: Black Ops 2.

The game launched officially on 17 September (despite some
customers receiving their copies of the game slightly ahead of
schedule) and took the traditional "eagerly anticipated iteration
of a violent video game franchise" format. That is to say, it was
accompanied by excited midnight queuing, editorials asking whether
violent games correspond with violent behaviour and some reprehensible behaviour in internet review comment
sections.

Speaking to the Financial Times, games analyst
Piers Harding-Rolls commented:

"Top end games releases in the same category as GTA
have been thin on the ground this year, so there is some pent up
demand for big-budget console experiences. It shows that
blockbuster games on home consoles still have a powerful following
and it suggests next-gen consoles have a healthy future even with
significant competition for time and spend from other devices and
content."

The game was greeted with an outstanding number of glowing
reviews although its depiction of women has been called out for
discussion and accused of lacking the sense of satire which
permeates the rest of the game.

How long i can keep its sales title is another matter. November
sees the release of Activision's Call of
Duty: Ghosts meaning that as well as there being more game
violence editorials, queuing and comments to look forward to,
Rockstar, GTA's developer, might also need give up its new
crown.